Can you do Alaska without doing excursions?

[Agent 86]

I did an Alaskan cruise in June 2016. I think you could do the cruise without any excursions and still have a good time, especially if you enjoy remaining on board the ship and luxuriating in having a lot of the areas to yourself while everyone is on land. I think all three locations also offer "free" or relatively cheap activities in terms of sight-seeing, hiking, etc that could keep you busy for at least an hour or two if you did decide to explore.

But, I would strongly recommend doing at least some excursions (e.g. White Pass Railway and Medenhall Glacier) to get a broader appreciation for the beauty of Alaska.

 

[anricat]

We sailed a couple of weeks ago and for us, we knew it would be a once in a lifetime type of trip. We figured, if we're going to go, we should do it right. Why spend all the money on the air and the cruise fare (which is much higher than fares in the Caribbean) and then not just go ahead and DO the things. We ended up spending around $1200 for our family of three, but I didn't spare any expense for the most part. (Did we ride a helicopter to a glacier and ride a dog sled? No, but that was fine.)

We found that we were able to explore the ports and shop for maybe 45 minutes or so, but then we were done. All the stores sell the same schlock and every other shop is a jewelry store.

In Juneau we rented a car (there's a cheap car rental place - Juneau Car Rental at the same dock where the Wonder docks) and did the glacier. We could have driven to a lot of other places (the car rental guy recommended some really beautiful sounding places) but we had a private whale watching booked. So that might be an option for you. Though the whale watching was OFF THE CHARTS and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. It was worth. every. penny.

I second the recommendation about renting a car in Skagway. I considered that route, but decided on a bus/rail trip. Yah, it was a little more, but the guide was so knowledgable and being able to get that information, plus being able to look at whatever I wanted to without having to focus on the road and driving made it worthwhile. And the train on the way down offered a completely different viewpoint, and, again, more really interesting narration. We stopped at the aforementioned Caribou Crossing but didn't find it crazy busy. Our tour operator (Chilkoot Charters) was really careful to avoid the crowds, making a few comments like, "Huh, we're going to stop at that stop later. It looks a little busy now."

In Ketchikan, I feel like that's a port you can do a little more in. Creek Street was definitely more interesting than the other ports. We did a little kayaking trip (again, not through Disney) and it was super fun. It was low key, just a couple of hours and we got to kayak across the channel (right under the bow of the Wonder). Again, I wouldn't trade it.

So, while I would have had a good vacation without excursions, I feel like the excursions added SO MUCH to our trip. Our family really bonded on our adventures and had a fantastic time together. Either way, you'll have fun, but those excursions made our trip next level.

 

[phinz]

The one excursion I would do again in a heartbeat is the White Pass railroad up and back. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it the most relaxing excursion we did the entire time. I thought I would enjoy Mendenhall (It's named after my great great whatever uncle) and was miserable given the massive crowds. There are far too many buses allowed for a far too small area if you want to visit the observation center. I'll skip it next time, or I'll rent a car and spend the majority of the time hiking away from everybody else. YMMV.

 

[st0nehedge]

There is a healthy balance between wanting to do "all the things" and not feeling overwhelmed. I think that would go for any vacation.

Whether you have your whole day booked up or you choose to do self guided tours, there is no right or wrong! Do what works for you and your family.

 

[anricat]

The one excursion I would do again in a heartbeat is the White Pass railroad up and back. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it the most relaxing excursion we did the entire time. I thought I would enjoy Mendenhall (It's named after my great great whatever uncle) and was miserable given the massive crowds. There are far too many buses allowed for a far too small area if you want to visit the observation center. I'll skip it next time, or I'll rent a car and spend the majority of the time hiking away from everybody else. YMMV.

And this is exactly why we rented a car in Juneau and arrived at Mendenhall at around 8:30 before there was anyone there. It was wonderful!

As far as the train, I highly recommend taking the bus in one direction or the other so you can get off and enjoy the sights. I loved being able to experience everything both while moving and taking things in as we were going along AND stopped to really take things in for a bit.

 

[RedSox68]

And this is exactly why we rented a car in Juneau and arrived at Mendenhall at around 8:30 before there was anyone there. It was wonderful!

As far as the train, I highly recommend taking the bus in one direction or the other so you can get off and enjoy the sights. I loved being able to experience everything both while moving and taking things in as we were going along AND stopped to really take things in for a bit.

yes, we did the excursion through Chilkoot and did the train up and the shuttle back and it included lunch (and lots of sledding puppies to hug), and we saw some beautiful sites, including Emerald Lake. The driver stopped many times for picture taking. One of our very favorite excursions.

 

[anricat]

Chilkoot was great. Our driver Mike was fantastic. Again, worth every penny.

 

[Tritonman]

We rented a car from Avis $t05 in skagway and drove out into the yukon. Went whale watching in Juneau 132 per person. And just walked around ketchikan.

Has a wonderful time. And will probably do the same when we go back in 2 years.

 

[WestFamily]

We did zero excursions last year and I have zero regret. Why? Because Alaska was touristy. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and every stop felt like a part of the Bay. From SF, to Monterey, to old Town Sacramento. We walked around each town and called it good. We spent money on food or touristy things but we used Alaska to relax. It worked wonders. We even thought about doing the Green Jeep tours and I'm not disappointed in not doing that.

So yes, you can skip it IF you don't want the touristy stuff. If/when we go back the only things we have to do are Tracy's Crab Shack and the Fish and Chips place in Juneau (I think).

 

[RedSox68]

We did zero excursions last year and I have zero regret. Why? Because Alaska was touristy. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and every stop felt like a part of the Bay. From SF, to Monterey, to old Town Sacramento. We walked around each town and called it good. We spent money on food or touristy things but we used Alaska to relax. It worked wonders. We even thought about doing the Green Jeep tours and I'm not disappointed in not doing that.

So yes, you can skip it IF you don't want the touristy stuff. If/when we go back the only things we have to do are Tracy's Crab Shack and the Fish and Chips place in Juneau (I think).

This is why we book excursions out of the towns -- to see the natural stuff (nature, wildlife, etc.) and you don't feel like you are in a touristy part at all. For us, Alaska was all about seeing as much of the natural wonder as possible.

 

[snoopy5386]

We just cruised this summer with a group of 11 and we all chose to do different things in the ports.
Ketchikan - Myself and a friend (who is a big fan of the show) did the Deadliest Catch Tour. It was $200 and it was a great experience, but for the money spent I would not do it again. We saw whales, salmon, eagles (they feed them for about 10 mins, this was amazing), seals and of course crab. It was a really good tour, the staff that run it are wonderful, it's well narrated and they do an excellent job. It is consistently rated very highly on trip advisor and it has totally earned it, but it is very expensive. I wanted to take my kids, but they were not interested and I'm glad we saved the money. Prior to the tour I got off the ship and walked quickly around the town and did some shopping. This was the only port I had any time to go into a store the entire trip. I was off the ship by 8 am, toured the town and Creek St and was back at the ship for our tour by 10:30 or so. We got back from the tour and our ship sailed 15 mins later.

Husband, another friend and my 2 kids walked around the town, shopped, visited Creek Street and hit up the Totem Pole museum. I think they may have eaten lunch in port too. Other family of 5 walked around the port shops and never even made it to Creek St before returning to the ship.

Juneau - We rented two cars here and the entire group drove out to Mendenhall, we hiked out to Nugget Falls and everyone loved this. It was spectacular and I would go here again in a heartbeat. We were here maybe 2.5 hours, but did not have any extra time to do any hikes or visit the Visitor's Center. DH drove myself and the kids to a dock for us to take a whale watch (around $300 for the 3 of us) with a stop at Safeway to pick up food for dinner. The kids and I did the whale watch which was amazing and tied for my favorite thing that we did. We saw well over 40 whales, tons of tails and fins, breaching and bubble feeding. We also saw seals. Kids also loved it. We were off the boat from 12:30-8 pm.

DH and two other adult friends went to the Juneau Brewery after they dropped us off at the whale watch and then at dinner at Hanger on the Wharf in Juneau.

Family of five who was with us left Mendenhall and went back to the ship.

Skagway - Here we all took a motorcoach tour through Frontier Tours to the White Pass Summit. This was the biggest disappointment of the trip. We had foggy weather the entire cruise and there was really nothing to see due to the fog. I was hoping the fog would break as we drove out of port but no luck. At one point the driver stopped at an overlook and no one got off the bus - it was so foggy we didn't realize it was an overlook. I have seen the spectacular scenery posted online, but alas it was not meant for us to see. We got dropped off in town and ate lunch at Skagway Brewing Co. I very quickly walked the town between ordering and the food arriving to take some pics. Afterwards myself, my oldest and a friend walked back to the dock quickly to make it to our afternoon excursion - dogsledding musher's camp ($130 a person). This is tied for my other favorite thing in Alaska. Dogsledding has been a bucket list item of mine since I was my daughter's age and it was absolutely amazing to share this experience with her. Our guide was great, the scenery was beautiful. Loved it. This day we were off the ship at 9 am and back on right before we sailed at 4:30.

Husband and youngest, adult friend and family of 5 shopped a little on their walk back to the boat.

Obviously what we spent on excursions for the members of our group varied widely. We all had a fabulous time. I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything. Totally worth the price and I don't feel like we spent a ton.

 

[Shanti]

We just cruised this summer with a group of 11 and we all chose to do different things in the ports.
Ketchikan - Myself and a friend (who is a big fan of the show) did the Deadliest Catch Tour. It was $200 and it was a great experience, but for the money spent I would not do it again. We saw whales, salmon, eagles (they feed them for about 10 mins, this was amazing), seals and of course crab. It was a really good tour, the staff that run it are wonderful, it's well narrated and they do an excellent job. It is consistently rated very highly on trip advisor and it has totally earned it, but it is very expensive. I wanted to take my kids, but they were not interested and I'm glad we saved the money. Prior to the tour I got off the ship and walked quickly around the town and did some shopping. This was the only port I had any time to go into a store the entire trip. I was off the ship by 8 am, toured the town and Creek St and was back at the ship for our tour by 10:30 or so. We got back from the tour and our ship sailed 15 mins later.

Husband, another friend and my 2 kids walked around the town, shopped, visited Creek Street and hit up the Totem Pole museum. I think they may have eaten lunch in port too. Other family of 5 walked around the port shops and never even made it to Creek St before returning to the ship.

Juneau - We rented two cars here and the entire group drove out to Mendenhall, we hiked out to Nugget Falls and everyone loved this. It was spectacular and I would go here again in a heartbeat. We were here maybe 2.5 hours, but did not have any extra time to do any hikes or visit the Visitor's Center. DH drove myself and the kids to a dock for us to take a whale watch (around $300 for the 3 of us) with a stop at Safeway to pick up food for dinner. The kids and I did the whale watch which was amazing and tied for my favorite thing that we did. We saw well over 40 whales, tons of tails and fins, breaching and bubble feeding. We also saw seals. Kids also loved it. We were off the boat from 12:30-8 pm.

DH and two other adult friends went to the Juneau Brewery after they dropped us off at the whale watch and then at dinner at Hanger on the Wharf in Juneau.

Family of five who was with us left Mendenhall and went back to the ship.

Skagway - Here we all took a motorcoach tour through Frontier Tours to the White Pass Summit. This was the biggest disappointment of the trip. We had foggy weather the entire cruise and there was really nothing to see due to the fog. I was hoping the fog would break as we drove out of port but no luck. At one point the driver stopped at an overlook and no one got off the bus - it was so foggy we didn't realize it was an overlook. I have seen the spectacular scenery posted online, but alas it was not meant for us to see. We got dropped off in town and ate lunch at Skagway Brewing Co. I very quickly walked the town between ordering and the food arriving to take some pics. Afterwards myself, my oldest and a friend walked back to the dock quickly to make it to our afternoon excursion - dogsledding musher's camp ($130 a person). This is tied for my other favorite thing in Alaska. Dogsledding has been a bucket list item of mine since I was my daughter's age and it was absolutely amazing to share this experience with her. Our guide was great, the scenery was beautiful. Loved it. This day we were off the ship at 9 am and back on right before we sailed at 4:30.

Husband and youngest, adult friend and family of 5 shopped a little on their walk back to the boat.

Obviously what we spent on excursions for the members of our group varied widely. We all had a fabulous time. I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything. Totally worth the price and I don't feel like we spent a ton.

Thanks for the info. When did you sail?

 

[jeepnjudy]

The only excursion we paid for through Disney was the White Pass Railroad train ride because I have two DS that are train fanatics. After that, we rented a car and in one of the ports we hired a private sea plane pilot who took us out for the day and it was MUCH cheaper than Disney and amazing views!

 

[RedSox68]

The only excursion we paid for through Disney was the White Pass Railroad train ride because I have two DS that are train fanatics. After that, we rented a car and in one of the ports we hired a private sea plane pilot who took us out for the day and it was MUCH cheaper than Disney and amazing views!

And if you book this through Chilkoot, it's cheaper

 

[jeepnjudy]

And if you book this through Chilkoot, it's cheaper

Well why didn't you share that when I went in 2011?

 

[RedSox68]

Well why didn't you share that when I went in 2011?

Cause I didn't go until 2012

 

[psac]

Also agree with the folks who say if it's a once in a lifetime trip, don't skimp. we booked excursions in all three ports, and the only one we didn't like was the wilderness explorer in Ketchikan. Otherwise we loved the excursions in the other two ports.

I hate to say it... But I would even consider taking a cheaper cruise line if that freed up some money for excursions.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Also agree with the folks who say if it's a once in a lifetime trip, don't skimp. we booked excursions in all three ports, and the only one we didn't like was the wilderness explorer in Ketchikan. Otherwise we loved the excursions in the other two ports.

I hate to say it... But I would even consider taking a cheaper cruise line if that freed up some money for excursions.

There's nothing wrong with seeing Alaska on another cruise line, especially if it includes Glacier Bay, then a trip to Denali afterward.

 

[RedSox68]

There's nothing wrong with seeing Alaska on another cruise line, especially if it includes Glacier Bay, then a trip to Denali afterward.

That's what we did in 2012 -- we took Holland America not only because it included Glacier Bay (which was an experience in and of itself), but because we could hook on a land portion that included Denali and going up into the Yukon. All hotels, flights, transportation and excursions on the land portion were included -- and some meals. It was extraordinary and I'd highly recommend it. It was a 7-day cruise and 12-days on land.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I would definitely not skip excursions, at least not the first time you go. However, you can try to keep costs down. For Juneau, the Mendenhall glacier excursion is not terribly expensive from what I remember, so that might be a good choice (not what we did, but I have heard good things.) For Skagway, you might want to splurge a little and do the railroad. I wouldn't miss that if you love beautiful scenery. I am not sure about Ketchikan. You might be satisfied with exploring town and seeing Creek Street, but you will probably like it more if you get out and see more. We did an excursion to George Inlet Lodge where they took you on a boat to show you how they catch the crabs and then you have a crab feast.

Another way to possibly save money is to do private excursions, but then you run the risk of having an issue and missing the ship. Skagway would probably be the best candidate for this, as that is usually the longest day for Alaskan sailings, if I remember correctly.